Brain bloom

As it drifts in the sky, it absorbs various gases and liquids from the air, and gradually grows larger; this is its growth process.

It also gives birth to offspring, but the eggs of the Cloud Worm are the most delicious food in the world. To prevent the children from being stolen and eaten by monsters, countless small clouds will split when it lays eggs. There may be a thousand or ten thousand, but only one cloud will inherit the soul.

The real insect eggs will continue to grow, and that is the cloud insect.

However, the other materials used for disguise would become the most ordinary clouds in the sky. Generally speaking, it is these ordinary clouds that are mineralized by divine power. Although this type is a bit troublesome, it is not dangerous.

However, there are exceptions. Some unlucky cloud worms may be bathed in divine power descending from the sky and become mineralized in their worm form, which is terrifying.

Cloud worms are also categorized, such as cumulonimbus clouds, earthquake clouds, and so on. The one in front of us belongs to the most powerful and violent thunderstorm cloud worm.

Even more terrifying is that it has absorbed the power of a thousand-year-old god, making it a true adult insect…

Volume 1, Chapter 156: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter

"I still don't understand."

While Dandelion was explaining, Fufu was in Senshi's hands, being rolled around and played with. Whether it was because of all that tossing and turning that Fufu lost her intelligence or not, Fufu didn't understand Dandelion's explanations.

It's actually pretty much the same in Mori.

She only figured out two things—this cloud was an incredibly powerful insect, and many clouds are actually insects.

"Princess, is this how clouds come about?" Fu Fu asked again.

"Yes, many aspects of the natural climate are determined by cloud worms, you should know that, right?"

"...I am a child of the sea, and I do not understand the affairs of you on land and in the air."

Dandelion had no choice but to continue explaining the world's environmental problems, which Sen listened to with a stunned expression.

This information shocked her... The so-called natural climate, although it looks the same as Earth's, has a completely different operating structure...

For example, the process of water evaporating, rising into the air, and becoming rain is actually caused by cloud worms.

The souls of cloud worms are very pure, but the evil of humans often floats into the air and affects them. Therefore, cloud worms need to regularly draw water from the ground to nourish themselves, which is simply a matter of taking a bath.

When clouds turn gray or black, it means they have accumulated enough moisture to bathe in order to keep the soul pure.

After washing it clean, the water is transformed into rainfall and returned to the earth...

"Damn it, I'm never going to get caught in the rain again," Mori muttered to himself.

"It's not dirty. The bathwater of the cloud insects can nourish the world. Didn't you enjoy getting soaked in the rain before?"

Mori's face was ashen as he continued listening to the lecture...

For example, a light drizzle indicates that the cloud worms in the sky are still very small. A torrential downpour, on the other hand, proves that many adorable cloud worms have gathered to take a bath.

Occasionally, you might encounter thundercloud worms, or even rarer thunderstorm cloud worms, and find yourself bathing with them. At that time, there will be lightning and thunder, strong winds, and torrential rain, signifying that they are thoroughly enjoying their bath…

Moreover, it is these insects that determine the seasons.

winter--

It is when the ancient cloud insects, which are over a hundred years old, take a bath; they belong to the category of water element.

As I grow older, my soul grows colder and colder, and every time I take a bath, the water freezes into ice flowers, which then torment the earth.

spring--

After the group of old men cleaned themselves up, they went back to their secluded homes, and the weather warmed up and the ice and snow melted.

When the eggs of the cloud insects hatch, the adorable little ones emerge from the cloud eggs, and the water after their bath is as moist and fine as that of a baby.

summer--

During the mating season of cloud worms, they are busy mating, so the sky is cloudless.

The direct sunlight and the heat of mating combine to raise the world's temperature. And after each mating, they quickly take a long bath, empty the water, and move on to find their next mate. Therefore, summer rains come and go quickly.

autumn--

The cloud insects, having mated all summer, were exhausted and huddled together in a ball.

Because they were exhausted, they floated higher than usual. This is a unique feature of autumn: beautiful altocumulus clouds that densely cover the entire sky. And because they were exhausted, the cloud worms, weary from the effort, also carried a desolate and powerless atmosphere throughout the world.

Sen covered her ears halfway through hearing this. She felt that this ridiculous world should be renamed, maybe "The Cloud Worm's Toy Box"... Anyway, she could no longer look at the seasons the same way.

As for this thousand-year-old lump in front of us...

"What do we do now... give up?" Mori asked.

"Devil, give me an explanation!" Dandelion glared angrily at Yuan. "How could I possibly dig this up? Devil is definitely not trustworthy... What happened to the promised equal exchange?"

"I promise I'll explain it to you."

He took a feather from the shawl, left something on it, and handed it to Melia.

She stood up, her fingers piercing the air, creating several cracks—the gateway to the realm of demons. As for the feather, Sen Shi believed it was used to determine the return coordinates.

"I'll go ask my dad."

After saying that, Yuan angrily shoved her way inside. Before the door closed, you could still hear Yuan yelling, "Lazybones, get up! I'm asking you something..."

The father and daughter seem to have a good relationship.

Suddenly, Mori heard Melia whisper, "Daddy..."

"Huh?" Sen Shi's entire body, including the tiny hairs on the branches and leaves, stood on end. She subconsciously looked at Melia.

But then Melia smiled mischievously, probably deliberately pausing her sentence to see Morishi's reaction: "I just wanted to say that among the things my parents left me, there is something that can barely deal with this bug."

“Shall we go back and get it, Melia?” Daniel asked. “Or, let’s call all the guardians of the Chaos Lands. More people means more confidence.”

"That's all we can do."

After pondering for a while, Sen Shi turned his head to look at the millennia-old thunderstorm cloud worm.

"Princess, this mine must be very valuable, right?"

"Probably... If what Senshi said is true, there will definitely be very rare associated minerals. But the risks outweigh the rewards, and by a lot, so let's not consider it."

Sen Shi didn't speak, but took out the Debt-Collecting Bow from his baggage. He casually shaped an ice arrow, hooked a thin string onto it, and aimed the bow at the Thundercloud Worm.

Her actions made the two men and one dragon tense up, and they quickly told Mori not to do anything rash. But she just wanted to confirm what her biggest trump card could actually do.

Kesen was disappointed; the bow's power hadn't increased...

Reluctantly putting away his bow, Mori had finally figured out its mechanism. It was probably related to gold coins, since they were a symbol of wealth. The judgment criterion was likely determined by the amount of gold coins held.

It works great against wealthy tycoons, but against monsters like this... it's a bit of a stretch. Even if its entire body could be dismantled and sold for money, it doesn't possess any currency, so Mori is still powerless.

A few minutes later, a faint cracking sound came from the space, indicating that Yuan had returned from inside the door.

"Alright, alright, really." She landed back in her original spot with an apologetic look, retracted her feathers, closed the door, and explained in a relieved voice, "Don't worry, this insect won't hurt us."

"Oh?"

"Not only has it been blessed by the power of the gods for a thousand years, but after it was mineralized, it was also unfortunately impaled by some powerful weapon from the divine realm. As long as that weapon remains impaled, it is equivalent to being continuously sealed."

"You should have said so earlier! Daniel, let's go! I hope you won't lie to us."

"The devil is still a man of his word. It would have been better if he had made things clear earlier."

Yuan, feeling guilty after being praised, returned a smile and settled down with the three of them, as Daniel flew toward the thundercloud worm.

"Does that mean we can't touch that sealed weapon later? Or should we avoid it when digging?"

“Dad said it doesn’t matter, since no one can touch that weapon anyway.”

So everyone was overjoyed and, chatting and laughing, prepared to start digging.

……

(P.S. I've been working on some of the settings for this chapter for a long time, which is why it's only now that I've finished writing it. Sorry.)

Volume 1, Chapter 157: Playing

Erlong circled around slightly and chose a relatively flat spot in the middle of the cloud to land.

Even with its size and weight, the dragon landed firmly on the cloud. Only then did Sen Shi finally dare to believe that this was indeed a living creature with life and a soul, and not just ordinary mist.

She was curious about everything about this creature, because it looked soft and white, and it floated in the clouds. It was a magical life form that determined the climate of the world, and it really did have a strange feeling about it...

It's just like my childhood self, all those daydreams I had after reading fairy tales have now come true.

Apart from Mori, the other three companions successively left Erlong's back and landed on the extremely white clouds, waving to Mori. They found it strange that Mori was still not moving.

"Mori, what's wrong? Don't just stand there."

"Don't worry! It is indeed sealed, it won't turn into a battle."

Mori nodded, took a few deep breaths, and then leaped towards the Cloud Insect.

The sensation underfoot was amazing; the clouds, though extremely soft, could completely support a person's body.

It was like knee-deep winter snow, but it wouldn't swallow your feet. Mori actually quite liked the feeling and couldn't help but jump around a few times, but he quickly got used to it.

One could also sense a massive, planet-like pulse, the flow of the Thundercloud Worm's spiritual energy. But it was also being controlled by a restraining force, falling into a state similar to slumber.

Melia gathered her hair into an elegant high ponytail. Then she flapped her little wings and flew a few meters higher, looking around: "Sure enough, this level of whiteness... it has been mineralized into Nayin Cloud. I wasn't wrong."

"What do we do now?" Mori asked.

"Let me check the quality first."

Melia landed back in her original spot, reached out and plucked a small piece from the cotton candy-like cloud beside her, rubbing it between her fingers a few times. It held for several seconds before finally dissipating into wisps of mist.

"As expected of a thousand-year-old thunderstorm cloud worm, the quality of its Nayin cloud is very high. Such a small piece can probably record a minute's worth of sound."

"One minute? Are you sure?" Dandelion seemed surprised, her left eyebrow twitching. "On the market, that kind of small one can only record for ten seconds at most..."

“Although Nayin Cloud isn’t very valuable, you can still make a little money from this quality, Princess Dandelion. This small piece might be worth five silver coins.”

As she spoke, Melia continued to scan the surroundings with an extremely knowledgeable eye, her mouth never stopping.

“However, we are not slaves, and we are not here to mine ordinary Nayin Clouds—it’s time to find associated minerals.”

"We might actually be able to find some, but before we start looking, shouldn't we talk business first?"

At the same time, Sen Shi was surprised to hear this and also reached out and pinched off a small piece.

It felt like cotton in her hand, but had no weight at all—this was the world's tape recorder. With a sigh, she quickly figured out how to use it, channeling a wisp of spiritual energy into it, and it emitted a bright light.